Textile machinery



E. KINSELLA TEXTILE MACHINERY Filed May 5,- 1944 I H luun Hill:

Y March 19, 1946.

March 19, 1946. E; KINSELLA I TEXTILE MACHINERY Filed May 5, 1944- 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 A ttorneys March 1 1946- 4 E. KINSELLA 2,396,662

'II'EXTILE MACHINERY 7 Filed May 5, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 v N L I nvenlor I42 EKWS E LLA B W/W I Attorneys March 19, 1946. v E. KINSELLA I 2,396,662

TEXTILE MACHINERY Filed May 5, 1944 4 sheets-sheet 4 Inv'entor s xmssu LA Patented Mar. 19, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE,

TEXTILE MACHINERY Edward Kinsella, Spondon, near Derby, England,

assignor to British Celanese Limited, London, W. 1, England, a company of Great Britain .AppiicationMay 5, 1944, Serial No. 534,186 In Great Britain April 22, 1943 12 Claims.

stant peripheral speed and consequently to provide a constant rate of take-up or collection of the yarn,

Yarn winding apparatus of this kind is particularly suitable for the winding of threads of artificial filaments continuously with their production since it enables the threads, which are produced at a constant linear rate, to be taken up at the same constant speed as that at which they are produced, notwithstanding the fact that during the growth of'a package from the empty to the full state its diameter is constantly increasing. U. S. Patent No. 2,266,121 describes a cheese winding machine of this kind in which, moreover, provision is made for changing over on completion of a cheese from a full package to an empty spool so that continuity in the collection of the thread as fast as it is produced is maintained; In the machine described in U. S. Patent No. 2,266,121, constancy of the peripheral speed of the package being wound is maintained by the provision of infinitely variable speed gears for driving the spindles and a cam for changing the speed ratio of said gears inversely as the expected rate of increase of the package diameter.

It has now been found advantageous in machines of this kind to make the spindle speed depend not merely on the expected rate of growth of the package but on the-actual growth of. the package so as to eliminate any variation in takeup speed that mightarise, e. g. from variations in yarn tensions due to atmospheric conditions,

which could not betaken into account in computing the expected rate of growth of the package and the corresponding form of the cam controlling the spindle speed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cheese winding ap- :paratus in which such further refinement of control is effected. It is a further object of the in. vention to provide a machine-in which the change from a full package to an empty package carrier may be effected not only without interruption in the continuous collection 01 the-thread but also in a fully automatic manner atpredetermined intervals.

According to the present invention, a method.

of winding yarn at a substantially constant linear speed comprises feeding the yarn to a rotating package, driving the package through variable speed means having speed control means assoelated therewith, driving, said speed control means through a slipping drive, and controlling the degree'of slip in said slipping drive in acof growth of the package from an arbitrary rate of growth preselected to be greater than the actual rate of growth, whereby the peripheral speed of the package is maintained constant not-.

withstanding the increase of itsdiameter. Preferably the preselected rate of growth is chosen so as to be only slightly higher than the calculated rate of growth of the package, so that the m are small, though always present.

' A yarn winding apparatus for carrying out the method defined above comprises a spindle, in-

finitely-variable gear means for driving said spindle, control means, such as a cam, adapted on 15 being steadily driven to decrease steadily the speed ratio of said gear means, clutch means for a feeler for the surface of the packa e being wound adapted to move one of said members in accordance with the diameter of the package and means for moving the other of saidmembers in accordance with the rate at which said package is being rotated. By these. means, as the pack age grows it acts through the feeler to engage the clutch driving the cam or like means control-q ling thespeed, ratio .of the gear means, which cam means, besides decreasing the speed of the spindle, dlsenga'ges the clutch means so as to prevent further decrease in the speed of the spindle until further growth of the package takes place. In the operation of the machine the intervalsbetween successive engagements and dis engagements of'the clutch in this'manner may i be made so short (having regard to the fact that the operations of engagement and disengagement are not absolutely instantaneous but occupy a small measure of time) that the resultant effect is equivalent to a stead slipping of the clutch to give the requisite speed to the cam controlling the infinitely-variable speed gear.

The cam will have a maximum speed corresponding to full and constant engagement ofthe clutch through which it is driven, and accordingly the form of the cam should be such that, if it were always driven at that maximum speed, it would at any time decrease the speed ratio at a greater rate than iscalled for by the expected rate of increase of the package diameter; this is necessary so that the cam, being actually driven with a mean speed less than this maximum speed, may in fact decrease the speed rate at a rate corresponding directly to the actual rate of increase of the package diameter. It is desirable. 5 however that this divergence of the,cam form from that which would be required if the cam were constantly driven should be as small as is consistent with leaving a margin for possible I variations of the package diameter from what is expected. In this way the necessar slipping o1 divergence and consequently the degree of slip the clutch driving the can is reduced to a mini.

mum.

As the feeler for the control of the first clutch member the traverse guide by means of which the yarn is traversed to and fro along the length as'aaees of Figure 3. further broken away at certain parts to show additional details,

of the package beingformed may be employed.

the traverse guide being arranged to make light contact with the surface of the package and to be pushed away from the axis of the package as the package grows. As the means for controlling the position of the second clutch member there may be employed a further cam mounted on the same shaft as that which controls the infinitely-variable gear. Since the spindle speed at any time depends on the position of the cam Figure 6 is a detail of Figure 5. I

Figure 7 is a front elevation in sectionthrough the right hand end of the gear boxes shown in Figure 1, and

Figure 8 is a detail, partly in section, of the mechanism shown in Figures 5 and 7. 1

As in.U. S. Patent'No. 2266;121, the machinecomprises a trunnion casing H of substantially rectangular cross-section mounted so as to turn about its longitudinal horizontal axis and having controlling the infinitely-variable gear the plac- 7 ing of the second cam on the same shaftcreates the required condition that the second clutch member should be controlled in accordance with the spindle speed.

While the invention, being concerned primarily with the control of the spindle speed during the actual winding operation,=is applicable to ma chines in which winding is stopped at; the end of each winding operation in order to change from afull package to an empty spool it is particularly advantageous in machines in which. asin U. 8. Patent No.2,266,121, arrangements are-prothe change-over mechanism by means of which the substitution of an empty package support for a full package is 'eifected. At the same time the cam or cams controlling the infinitely-variable gear are re-set to the correct position for starting a fresh winding operation. Where, as in U. S. Patent No.'2,266,121, the spindles and their drive including the infinitely-variable speed gear are duplicated, this also involves putting into operation the spindledrive which was idle during the formation of the completed package. The re-setting of the infinitely-variable speed gear may conveniently have been effected in the interval during which the spindles driven by it were idle. e. g. immediately after the completion of a working cycle on the part of that drive.

By way of example a cheese winding apparatus according to the present invention, similar in many respects to that described in U. 8. Patent No. 2,266,121 and designed to serve as the winding mechanism of a' dry spinning apparatus for the production of threads and artificial filaments will now be described in greater detail in reference to thc accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1- is a front elevation of the winding mechanism as applied to a dry spinnin g appara us, a

Figure 2 is a plan of part of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a rear elevation in section through Figure 4 is a plan of the mechanismshown in Figure 3 taken in section on the line 4-4 of.

Figure 3 with the cover removed, and some of the underlying mechanism (shown in Figure 5) omitted for greater clarity,

package carrying spindles i2 protruding from to opposite sides of the casing, the spindles i2 being parallel to each other and lying respectively above and below the trunnion axis. Two shafts l3 extending lengthwise of the trunnion casing drive respectively one of each pair of spindles, each of the shafts being driven, as described in the prior patent, through an infinitely-variable gear whose control will be described in greater detail hereafter. The trunnion casing extends along a number of spinning cells it: and provides a pair of spindles ii for each thread produced in the cells.- .The thread i6 is delivered by the feed roller ii of the spinning cells 14-, downwardly to one side of the trunnion casing ii and the spindle i2, for

the reception of the carrier support or spool which is to take the thread I6, lies below the trunnion axis and extends towards the spinning cell M.

The trunnion casing II is arranged to'rotate so as to carry that spindle i2 downwards and below the trunnion axis and so round to a dofllng position, at the same time bringing the other spindle i2 carrying an empty package support or spool, upwards over the trunnion axis and into the winding position. Alongside the winding position is mounted a traverse boxgl'i from which extend a series of thread guides l8 each having a stroke appropriate to the length of the cheese, the several guides i8 being driven by cams is mounted on shafts 20 driven by a common shaft Ziintheboxll. The trunnion casing ii extends froma gear box 25 containing the infinitely-variable gears (generally positioned one behind the other at 26) for driving the shafts l3 and the mechanism for -26 and the change-over from one setof spindles E2 to the other on the completion of a series of controlling the output speeds of the gear boxes cheeses. The main drive to the mechanism enters the gear box at 25 by a sprocket 2'! mounted on the main shaft 28. As shown in Figure 7 the main shaft 28 carries a gear 29 which drives two gears 30 (one on each side of the plane of secticn of Figure 7), each of which is connected by a clutch 31 to the input shaft 32 of one of the infinitely-variable gears. One of the gears 30 also engages a gear which is connected through a train of gears 34 to a sprocket 35 whiclnthrough sprockets (Figure l) and shafts 37, 38 drives the spinning pumps 39 mounted at the top of the spinning cells Id. The other end of the main the upper partof the gear box shown in Figure 1,

shaft 28 carries a sprocket 40 which, throu h chains and intermediate sprockets (not shown) drives the feed roller 15. The main shaft 28 is also connected, through a ribbon-breaking device of the kind described in the prior patent, and disposed generally at II, to a sprocket ;dd connected by a chain to a sprocket 43 mounted on Figure 5 isapian in section on the line H 15 ning pumps a on the. one hand and the feed roller I and spindles l2 on the other hand, in order that yarns of diflerent deniers may be produced if desired.

The means whereby the change-over from a full package to an empty package support is effected by the rotation of the trunnion through an angle of 180 are exactly as described in the prior patent, the remainder of the present .description being directed to the manner in which the spindle speed is controlled during winding and the manner in which the rotation of the 'trunnion H as indicated above is timed and effected.

For the purposes of the present invention the traverse guides |8.are arranged 'so as-to press lightly. against the package being .wound on the spindle l2, being mounted on'a frame 45 pivoted on the shaft ill'o'fthe traverse cam Ill. The frame 45 is capable of swinging outwards from the package under pressure and is suitably counter-weighted at 45 so that onlylight pres sure is required to bring about this result. Each 5 of the series of traverse guide frames 45 is conaaeaeea 'gaged is disengaged and vice versa.

the trunnion casing) without disturbing the lever 60. When, however, the previously inoperative locking pin 55 drops into its hole 55 as the trunnion |l completes its movement, it acts upon the lever 60 (and incidentally upon the corresponding lever 62) so that the clutch 3| previously en- The engagement of the newly operative clutch 3| is effected immediately on the engagement of the locking pin 55; the disengagement of the previously eng ed clutch 3|, however, is delayed for a short-time for a purpose hereinafter described. This is effected by actuating each clutch 3| through'lever 65 (Figure 7), connected to the appropriate end of .the lever 60 by means of a spring loaded link 56 which is shown partly in nected at 41 to a thread guide retractor rod 48 extending the length of the machine, which rod is actuated during the winding operation to move in the direction of its length by the movement of the traverse guides l8 away from the spindle axes I! as the packages are growing and which,

at the end of the winding operation is independently retracted so as to allow the traverse guides iii to swing away from the-surfaces of the completed packages. This is efl'ectedfrom a control mechanism in the gear box'25.

V Within the gear box 25, as shown in Figure 3, the trunnion casing is provided with an external worm gear engaging with a worm 5| which may be driven, at timed intervals, through a clutch 52 provided for the purpose, hereinafter called the roll-over clutch. In thedrive to the worm 5| there is also included a slipping clutch 53 (Figures 4 and 5) to allow the shaft 54 car ymon shaft 12 and driven from the main drive 7 section in Figure 8. The link 55 is capable of being compressed instead of disengaging the clutch 3|, a fluid dash pot 61 being. provided to oppose the disengagement of each clutch 3| so that the'spring loaded link 55 is first compressed on engagement of the locking pin 55 and then slowly disengages the clutch 3| against the resistance of the dash pot 51.

' The mechanism described above (reference 50 to 51) is for the purpose of effecting the rotation of the trunnion casingii through 180 C., and the transference of the drive from. one set of spindles i2 to the other. The mechanism is operated at intervals by means of two cams 10, 1| (Figures 3 and 4) freely mounted on a comthrough a considerable reduction gearing which includes an eccentric, a pawl oscillated bythe eccentric and a ratchet wheel slowly driven by the pawl. The drive comes from the main shaft 28 through gear 29, 30, 33 and worm gear [3 (Fi mg the worm 5| to be overdriven without applying excessive torque to the worm. The drive to the clutch 52 comes from a sprocket 59', inside the gearbox 25 on the same shaft as the sprocket 42, which drives a sprocket 59 (Figures 1 and 5) and,'through a pair of skew gears I59 (Figure 5), the clutch 52. The trunnion ii is held in one or other of two working positions, displaced at 180 with-reference to one another, by meansof one.

. finitely-variable gear mechanisms 25 (Figures 1 and 5), which are driven from the main input shaft 28 of the machine through the two clutches 3| (Figure 7) The clutches 3| are actuated from opposite ends of a lever 6|! centrally pivoted at 5|, so that when one clutch 3| is engaged the other is disengaged. The lever 60 is actuated by the locking pins 55 for the trunnion casing Each pin 55 passes through a hole in the lever and through a hole in the lower end of a. vertical lever 52 and carries a head 63 acting on the lever 82, and through it onthe lever 50. In this way the operative locking pin may be brought out of engagement with its hole 55 in the trunis disengaged.

ure 7 to a shaft 14 carrying an eccentric l5 (Fig ure 1). The eccentric 15' drives a, lever 16 connected by link 'I'l to a lever |8 carrying a pawl 19 acting on a ratchet wheel on a shaft ill. The shaft 8| carries aworm 82 (Figure 3) engaging a worm wheel 83 connected to the cams III, II. and consequently the two cams l0 and H,- to be rotated by meansof a handle 84 so that, if desired, change-over can be effected at'any time, even before-the packages are completed.

The cam 10 is a release cam, serving merely to disengage the operative locking pin 55 through the corresponding lever 52 so as to release the trunnioncasing ii and to hold the locking pin out of engagement until the trunnion has started to rotate; after this the cam 10 releases the looking pin which, however, remains disengaged since it is no longer in register with the hole 58 in the trunnion casing but ispressing on the surface 51. The cam H is the master cam, which acts at regular intervals suflicient for the completion of a set of packages, and causes the roll-over clutch 52 to be first engaged and then disengaged, the time between these two operations being slightly in excess of that required for the rotation of the trunnion casing through When the trunnion casing [i has been rotated through 180 the locking pin 55 which was previously inoperative drops into its hole 55 in the.

surface 51 of the trunnion casing and prevents further rotation, slipping then taking place at the slipping clutch 53 until the roll-over clutch 52 As shown in Figure 4 the working periphery of the master cam 1| comprises a slow lift and a sharp drop twice repeated round the cam, each nion casing (as is necessary for the rotation of This arrangement enables the shaft M,

' ing adjustable by micrometer adjustment contents 88, 81 subtending at the centre of the cam Ii an angle slightly less than 180, this angle betrolling the position of the detents on their respective levers. The free ends of the levers 80, 89 are connected to one another by. means of a strong tension spring 92, and are also connected through parallel links 93, 9'4 to opposite ends of v a short rocking lever 95. The rocking lever 85 is pivoted at its centre .on one end of a bellcrank lever 90 of which the other end 0loperates the roll-over clutch 52. The two slow lifts of the master; cam II act simultaneously on the two detents 88, 81 throughout the winding of each package, and so force the two levers 80, 08 apart against the action of the strong-spring 0! connecting their ends. This, however, merely rocks the rocking lever 95 without effecting the position of its pivot, or the position of the bellcrank lever 90. Since the two detents 86, 81 are separated by an angle of less than 180 while the two sharpdropS on the cam I I are 180 apart,

detent 85 is released by the sharp drop before the detent 81 and in consequence one end only of the rocking lever 95 is sharply pulled, which moves the bell-crank lever 96 and engages the roll-over clutch 52. After a short time the second detent 81 is released by the sharp drop in the; cam II, which rocks the other end of the rocking lever 95 andmoves the bell-crank lever 98 to its original position, disengaging theroilover clutch 52. The interval between these two actions is in excess of the period necessary torotate the trunnion II through 180 by means or the worm i and the worm gear 50 on the trunnion. A cam groove 09 on the outer surface of the trunnion casing 'II within the gear box acts through a knuckled retract'or lever I00 upon theretractor rod 48 previously described so as towithdraw the traverse guides I8 clear of the packages during the above operation. The rod 08 passes through and is secured to the free end ofvthe lever I00, which is free to move independently of its inner end by reason of the knuckle at the pivot of the lever. The lever 00 to be operated first has an extension 00 beyond the-point of attachment of the spring 92, for a purpo hereinafter described. I g

The above description deals with, the changeover mechanism whereby one set of spindles I2 carrying full packages are moved away from the traversing position while the other setoi' spin d s. carryin mp y pa ka e sunp rta'a m d into the traversing position, the infiniteiy varF able gear 25 driving the first set of spindles I2 being declutched from the maind'riven through the clutch 3i while that the'second set. 01" spindles I2 is clutched to the (main ,drive through its clutch 0I.- It remains to be described how this retractor rod 08;.operatecl by the'growth of the packages during, the winding operation,

controls the spindle speed through 'the infinitely 2 variable speed gears 00 driving the spindles It, I

' clutch rotates, and is automatically adjusted in,

'Thetwo variable gears 26 arecontrolled as regards their speed ratio ratio in a manner known in connection with other and can beope'rated on by a single cam' I03, referred to as the speed cam.

The speed cam I03 issecured to by means of plungers "I; (Figure 5) which are spring loaded and act I through toggle mechanisms 02 tovarylthe speed" i i such speed cam I00 should hefsuch thaia'if driven condevices. The two variable gears )6 are assembled so that their -plunger-s m are opposed to one-anpackagi e.

. SPeedcam I03hasa-dwell,atminimumradius,of 180dure 1g of the'package. 'llost conveniently the fornrofasoaeee 6 slow rise of the cam I03 so that the speed of its gear is being steadily decreased the other of the plungers III is acting on the dwell of the cam" I08 at minimum radius so that itsgear is in the position of maximum speed the shaft 12,

' together withficam ill, the clutch control cam;

having two slow rises and two sudden drops, one for each package cycle occurring during a lull rotation of the cams I00, I00.

through a clutch of which both the driven member I00 and the driving member I08 are moveable and under control. The driven member I 00 carries a worm I01 engaging with a worm gear 20 I00 mounted on'a shaft I09 (Figure 5) carrying a. further worm'il 0, driving a worm gear III keyed to the shaft". The driving member I00 is driven from the shaft I il carrying the sprocket by means of a gear i I3 (Figure 7) on the shaft Il2'drivlng an idler gear H5 engaging with a go face of the cam I00, steadily draws the clutch member I05 away from' the other clutch member I00 throughout the winding operation. The driving member I00 is under the control of the retractor rod 08 which is actuated by the growth of the packages during the winding operation.

To this'end, both clutch members I05, I00 are freelyrotatable on a slidable shaft I20, the driven member I05 being free to slide along the length of the shaft I20 while the driving member I08 is 40 constrained to move axially with the shaft I20.

The endof the shaft I20 extends-out of the gear Both cams are is driven from the main drive of the machine 20 box 20, audio engaged by a spring loaded lever 1 IZI, pivoted on a bracket I22, the other end of the lever III being acted on by theretractor rod 40. In this way, the retractor rod acting through the lever iii and shaft I20 steadily pushes the driving member I00 towards the driven member I00 which is under control of-the clutch control cam I04. In this way, as the package grows the driving member I00 is pushed into engagement with the driven member I05, which causes the'shaft'fl carrying the two cams iilt,

' Illto be rotated. The rotationof the speed cam ,Illreduces the output speed of the opera- 5 tive variable gear 20 and so reduces the spindle speed.- The Simultaneous rotation of the clutch control cam .Illhowever withdraws the driven clutch member I" from the driving clutch member I00 and so stops the drive to the two arms I I00, I04. until further growth of the package takes place. In operation the effect produced is that of a constantly slipping drive throng h the clutch, whereby the two cams I08 I00 are driven substantially constantly but at a rate that is lower than that at which the driving member I05 of the was theactual rate of growth of the the cam can be based on the assumption that it will have a constant speed slightly less than this maximum, regard being had to the mode of variation of the speed ratio with variation of position of thecontrolling plungers IOI and the expected control cam I04 should be based on the same assumption as to its speed and should be 'such that at any time the expected size of the package and the expected position of the cam I04 would bring the two clutch members just into contact. It, then, the package tends to grow faster than is expected the clutch members I05, I06 will be pressed together rather more firmly, giving both cams a speed slightly greater than the assumed speed and diminishing the spindle speed at a greater rate to compensate for the unexpectedly high rate of growth of the package and to give the constant and desired peripheral speed and take-up speed.- On the other hand, if the package tends to grow more slowly than was expected the clutch members I05, I06 will be pressed less firmly together, again resulting in the desired peripherai speed and rate of take-up. To express the matter differently, the package diameter determines the position of one clutchmember I08 through the retractor rod 48 while the spindle speed determines the position of the other clutch member I through the plungers- I0l, speed cam I03, and the clutch control cam I04. If these two determining factors are so related as to give the desired peripheral speed the clutch members I05, I00 will be engaged with sufllcient force to members'will be engaged either more firmly or less firmly so as to create or restore this condition. I

While it is most. convenient to base the form, of the'tw'o cams I03, I04 on assumptions as to the expected rate of-growth of the package and an' assumed constant speed for the cams, neither of these assumptions is essential. Indeed either 'cam may have-an arbitrarily determined form provided that it is roughly of the shape outlined above, 1. e. a gentle rise and a sudden drop. The

form of the other cam is then absolutely deterclutch member into engagement with the driving clutch member if andonly ifthe spindle speed is that required to give the desired peripheral maintain this condition but if not then the clutch speed. These conditions for the form of-the two cams, however, are subject to the. proviso that the speed at which they must rotate during the building of an actual package in order to maintain the clutch members in contact must not ever be greater than the maximum speed as determined by the speed of the driving clutch member I08. The preferred method of determining the form of the camsis not only simple initself I I drive through a worm gear I25 (Figures 3 and 5) to the shaft I2 carrying the two cams.

I25 and also the gear III previously mentioned are connected to the shaft I2 through free-wheel The gear I gear in," m respectively so that when the resetting drive through gear I25 is in operation this drive, being the faster, overdrives the cam shaft I2 without being hindered by the normal drive thereto through the gear III. The re-setting drive is connected, as shown in Figure 5 to the maindrive of the machine through two clutches "I28, I20, the clutch I28 being merely a slipping clutch'while the other, the re-setting clutch I29 is capable of engagement and disengagement.-

The re-setting clutch I29 is actuated by a lever I30 to one point I3I of which is pivoted a rocking lever I32 whose two ends are separately con-.

trolled and which lies generaily. parallel to-the lever I30 on which it is mounted. One end of the rocking lever is connected by a link I33 to the lever III acted on by the clutch control cam I04. The other end of the rocking lever is connected by a spring link I34 and levers I35, I36 to the extension 88, previously mentioned, of the lever 88 engaged by the master cam II'. It will be recalled that-thelever 88 moves sharply to in-' itiate the change-over at the end of the cycle. This sharp movement brings the re-setting clutch I 20 into engagement through the rocking lever I32 and the lever I30 controlling said clutch. It is only able to do this, however, if the clutch control lever III is in the extreme lifted position,

this lever being connected to the other end of the rocking lever I 32-. This state of affairs is .brought about independently of the position of I05 thereby displacing the driven clutch member I05 and in consequence the clutch control lever I I1 connected to the driven clutch member. The

clutch control lever H1 is then pushed to its extreme position irespective of the position of the clutchcontrol'cam I 04. In order to retain the lever I I! in the extreme position an automatic latch is provided, rashown in Figure 6, in the form of a spring loaded hook I40 pivotally carried by the clutch control lever II I and adapted to engage with a stationary pin I4I; engagement of the clutch control cam I04 with the clutch control leverII'I is effected through an auxiliary lever I 42 pivoted at I43 upon the main part of the clutch control lever II I and normally held back substantially parallel to it by the engagement of the cam I 04, a pin I44 being provided on the main part of the lever III against which the auxiliary lever I42 presses in these circumstances. The end of the auxiliary lever I42also engages with a projection I45 on the .base of the spring loaded hook I40, so holding said hook clear of the stationary pin I4I with which it is intended to engage. the main part of the lever I I1 is displaced to its extreme position otherwise than by the action of the cam I04, the spring loaded hook I40 acts topress the auxiliary lever into continued engagement with the cam I04 and out of engagement with the stop pin I44 on the main part of the lever III. This also enables the spring loaded hock I40 to perform its function of holding the clutch control lever I I! in its extreme position.

When the re-setting clutch I 29' is thus engaged,

The actual When, however,

it drive the gear I25 being itself driven by gear I41 (Figure from shaft II2. In this way both cams I03, I04 are rapidly driven round until a stop I50 projecting from the face of the clutch control cam I04 engages a stop I5I on the aux-- iliary lever I42. At this stage the auxiliary lever I42 actuated by the working edge of the cam I04, has againreleased the spring loaded hook I40 from its pin MI and has moreover reached the drop of the clutch control cam I04 so that both the main lever II! and the auxiliary lever I42 return to their inward position, while the stop IBI carried by the auxiliary lever is moved out or the path. of the stop I50 on the clutch control cam preparatory to the next cycle. At the same time the speed cam I03 is moved round so that the operative plunger i0I passes the sudden drop of the cam and allows the mechanism of the variable gear 26 to return to the position of maximum out-Q put speed. In order that the mechanism should return to this position it is necessary that the variable gear should continue to be driven for a short period, and it is for this purpose that the delay in the disengagement of the clutch 0| connecting the infinitely-variable gear 26 to the main drive 28 is provided for as mentioned above by means of the fluid dash pots 61.

1. Method of winding yarns at substantially constant linear speed comprising feeding the yarn to a rotating package, driving said package through variable speed means having speed control mean associated therewith, driving said speed control. means through a slipping drive which, it constantly gripping, would reduce the speed of the package excessively, and moving the two contacting elements of said slipping drive axially during said winding, the leading member in such motion being moved in accordance with the reduction of the package speed and the member following being moved in accordance with the package diameter in such a way that the latter overtakes the former whenever the product or said speed and diameter exceeds a desired constant value and the iormer escapes from the latter' whenever said product falls short of said value, whereby the peripheral speed of the package is maintained constant notwithstanding the increase of its diameter.

2. Method of winding yarns I constant linear speed comprising feeding the The operation of the apparatus as a whole may be briefly recapitulated as follows:

Assuming that the packages being wound have been completed and that changeover is about to take place. the release cam 10 withdraws the operative locking pin from the trunnion casing and, while the pin is still withdrawn, the master cam ii causes the engagement of the roll-over clutch. The trunnion is thereby rotated through 180, in ,the course of which the cam groove 99 acts through the lever I00 so as to retract the thread guides and leave the spindles free to rotate about the trunnion axis. The retraction of the thread guides also engages the re-setting clutch! and re-sets the speed cam I03 and the clutch control cam I04 in readiness for the winding of the next 1 group or packages.

As the rotation of thetrunnion is completed the guides are returned to winding position and the previously disengaged locking pin drops into engagement with the trunnion in its new position. The engagement of the locking pin clutches in the drive to the new spindles and compresses the link 68 for the de-clutching oi the drive to the old spindles. The dc-clutchins is delayed, howeven-by the provision of the dash pots 61 so asto allow the infinitely-variable gear drive to the old spindles to be re-set to maximum speed in preparation for the next set of packages to be wound thereby.

During the winding of the packages, the growth of the packages tends to engage the clutch I05, I06 so as to rotate the spe dcam I03 and reduce the spindle speed to com ensate for the increase in diameter of the packages. The rotation of the speed cam; however, involves also the rotation of the clutch control cam, which tends to disengagethe clutch I05, I00'and preventthe spindle speed from being reduced too rapidly. In

this way a just compensation of the growth of the.

package is ensured throughout the winding thereof. when the packages are completed the cycle begins again, the packages previously completed having been removed in the meantime and replaced by empty tubes in preparation for the next cyc e.

Having described myinvention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

' yarn to a rotating package, driving said package through variable speed means having speed control means associated therewith, driving said speed control means through a slipping drive which, it constantly gripping, would reduce the ing said winding, the leadingmember in such motion being moved in accordance with the reduction of the package speed and the member following being moved in accordance with the package diameter in such a way that. the latter overtakes the former-whenever the product of said speed and diameter exceeds a, desired constant value and theiormer escapes from the latter whenever said product falls short of said value, whereby the peripheral speed of the package is maintained constant notwithstanding the increase of its diameter.

3. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a spindle, inilnitely variable gear means for driving said spindle, control means for said gear means adapted on being steadily driven to decrease steadily the speed ratio of said'ge'ar means,

clutch means for driving said control means, said clutch means having a driving member and a driven member, a ieeler for the suriaceof the package being wound adapted to move one of said members in accordance with the diameter of. the package, and means for moving the other of said members in accordance which said package is being'rotated.

4.-Yarn winding apparatus spindle, infinitely-variable gear means for drivlng said spindle. means adapted on clutch means for driving said control means, said clutch means having a driving member and a driven member, a guide for leadingfthe yarn to the winding spindle, said guide being adaptedlto engage the surface 0! the package and being coniiected to one of said members so as 0 move it I '5..Yarn winding apparatus comprising a spindle. infinitely-variable gear means-tor drivingsaid spindle, va cam for controlling said gearat sameness.

with the rate at comprising a control means for said gear being steadily driven to decrease steadily the speed ratio of said gear means,

means adapted on being steadily driven to decrease steadily the speed ratio of said gear means,

of the package and being connected tov one of said members so as to move it in accordance clutch means for driving said cam, said clutch means having a driving member and a driven member, a feeler for the surface of the package being wound adapted to move one of said members in accordance with the diameter of the package, and, secured to said cam, a further cam for moving the other of said members, whereby,

said member is .moved in accordance with the rate at whichsaid-package is being rotated.

- 6. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a means, clutch means for driving said cam, said .clutch means having a driving member and a;

driven member, a guide for leadingthe yam-to the winding spindle, said guide being adapted to engage the surface-of the package'and being connected to one of said members so as to move it in accordance with the diameter of the package, and, secured to said cam, a further cam for moving the other of said members, whereby said member is moved in accordance with the rate at which said package is being rotated.

7. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a pair of spindles, infinitely-variable gear means for driving said spindles, change-over means for bringing each of said spindles in turn into a winding position as to the package wound on the other spindle is completed, control means for said gear means ada ted on being steadily driven to decrease steadily the speed ratio of said gear means, clutch means for driving said cent: 01 means, said clutch means having a driving member and a driven member, a feeler for the-surface of the package being wound adapted to move one of said members in accordance with the diameter of the package, and means for moving the other of said members in accordance with the rate at means, means in association with said change-- over means for resetting said control means,

clutch means for driving said control means, said clutch means having a driving member and a driven member, a feeler for the surface of the package being wound adapted to move one of said members in accordance with-the diameter of the package, and means for moving the other of said members in accordance with the rate at which said packing is being rotated.

9. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a pair of spindles, infinitely-variable gear means for driving said spindles, change-over means for bringing each of said spindles in turn into a winding position as the package wound on the other spindle is completed, a cam for controlling said gear means and adapted on being steadilydriven to decrease steadily the speed ratio oi. said gear means, means in association with said change-over means for resetting said cam, clutch means for driving said cam, said clutch means having a driving member and a driven member, a guide for leading the yarn to the winding spindle, said guide being adapted to engage the surface l5- crease :steadily the ;speed ratio-of, said gear with the diameter of the package, and, secured to said cam, a iurther cam for moving the other of said members whereby said member is'movedin accordance with the rate at which said package is being rotated.

, 10. Yarn winding apparatusrcomprising a pair of spindles, infinitely-variable gear means for driving said spindles, change-over." means for bringing each of saidspindles in turn into a winding position, a time'cam for actuating said change-over means,-driving means adapted to rotate said time cam through one cycle in the period required for winding a' complete package, control means for said gear-means adapted on being steadily driven toidecre'ase? steadily the:.,:speed ratio of'said g'earrmean's- -ingsaid coritrol meari clutch-mearisfhaving a driving member ,and adriven member, afeeler for the surface of thefpackage being wound adapted to move one of said members in accordance with the diameter of the package, and means for moving the other of said members in-acoordance with the rate at which said package 'is being rotated.

l1. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a pair of spindles, infinitely-variable gear means for driving said spindles, change-over means for bringing each of said spindles in turn into a winding position, a time cam for actuating said change-over means, driving means adapted to rotate said time cam through one cycle in the period required for winding a complete package, and means for over-driving said time cam independently of said driving means to facilitate rapid resetting of the apparatus, control means for said gear means adapted on being steadily driven to decrease steadily the speed ratio .of said gear means, clutch means for driving said control means, said clutch means having a driving memberand a driven member, a feeler for the surface of the package being wound adapted to move one of'said members in accordance with the diameter of the package, and means for moving the other of said members in accordance with the rate at which said package is being rotated.

l2. Yarn winding apparatus comprising a pair of spindles, infinitely-variable gear means for driving said spindles,. change-over means for bringing each of said spindles in turn into a winding position, a time cam for actuating said change-over means, driving means adapted to rotate said time cam through one cycle in the period required for winding a complete package, and means for over-driving said timecam independently of said driving means to facilitate rapid resetting of the apparatus, a cam for controlling said gear means'and adapted on being steadily driven to decrease steadily the speed ratio of said gear means, means in association with said change-over means for resetting said cam, clutch said package is 

